Hezekiah Reigns in Judah

1 ^jHezekiah began to reign when he was twenty-five years old, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abijah¹ the daughter of ^kZechariah. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done.

Hezekiah Cleanses the Temple

3 In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he ^lopened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. 4 He brought in the priests and the Levites and assembled them in the square on the east 5 and said to them, “Hear me, Levites! Now ^mconsecrate yourselves, and consecrate the house of the Lord, the God of your fathers, and carry out the filth² from the Holy Place. 6 For our fathers have been unfaithful and have done what was evil in the sight of the Lord our God. They have forsaken him and ⁿhave turned away their faces from the habitation of the Lord and turned their backs. 7 They also ^oshut the doors of the vestibule and put out the lamps and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the Holy Place to the God of Israel. 8 Therefore ^pthe wrath of the Lord came on Judah and Jerusalem, and he has made them ^qan object of horror, of astonishment, ^rand of hissing, as you see with your own eyes. 9 For behold, ^sour fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. 10 Now ^tit is in my heart ^uto make a covenant with the Lord, the God of Israel, in order that his fierce anger may turn away from us. 11 My sons, do not now be negligent, ^vfor the Lord has chosen you to stand in his presence, to minister to him and to be his ministers and make offerings to him.”

12 Then the Levites arose, ^wMahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of ^xthe Kohathites; and of the sons of ^xMerari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the ^xGershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah; 13 and of the sons of ^yElizaphan, Shimri and Jeuel; and of the sons of ^zAsaph, Zechariah and Mattaniah; 14 and of the sons of ^aHeman, Jehuel and Shimei; and of the sons of ^bJeduthun, Shemaiah and Uzziel. 15 They gathered their brothers and ^cconsecrated themselves and went in as the king had commanded, ^dby the words of the Lord, ^eto cleanse the house of the Lord. 16 The priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and they brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the Lord into the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it and carried it out to ^fthe brook Kidron. 17 They began to consecrate ^gon the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then for eight days they consecrated the house of the Lord, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. 18 Then they went in to Hezekiah the king and said, “We have cleansed all the house of the Lord, the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the table for the showbread and all its utensils. 19 All the utensils ^hthat King Ahaz discarded in his reign when he was faithless, we have made ready and consecrated, and behold, they are before the altar of the Lord.”

Hezekiah Restores Temple Worship

20 Then Hezekiah the king rose early and gathered the officials of the city and went up to the house of the Lord. 21 And they brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven lambs, and seven male goats ⁱfor a sin offering for the kingdom and for the sanctuary and for Judah. And he commanded the priests, the sons of Aaron, to offer them on the altar of the Lord. 22 So they slaughtered the bulls, and the priests received the blood ^jand threw it against the altar. And they slaughtered the rams, and their blood was thrown against the altar. And they slaughtered the lambs, and their blood was thrown against the altar. 23 Then the goats for the sin offering were brought to the king and the assembly, ^kand they laid their hands on them, 24 and the priests slaughtered them and made a sin offering with their blood on the altar, ^lto make atonement for all Israel. For the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel.

25 ^mAnd he stationed the Levites in the house of the Lord with cymbals, harps, and lyres, ⁿaccording to the commandment of David and of Gad ^othe king’s seer and of ^pNathan the prophet, for the commandment was from the Lord through his prophets. 26 The Levites stood with ^qthe instruments of David, ^rand the priests with the trumpets. 27 Then Hezekiah commanded that the burnt offering be offered on the altar. And when the burnt offering began, ^sthe song to the Lord began also, and the trumpets, accompanied by the instruments of David king of Israel. 28 The whole assembly worshiped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded. All this continued until the burnt offering was finished. 29 When the offering was finished, ^tthe king and all who were present with him bowed themselves and worshiped. 30 And Hezekiah the king and the officials commanded the Levites to sing praises to the Lord with the words of David and of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed down and worshiped.

31 Then Hezekiah said, ^u“You have now consecrated yourselves to³ the Lord. Come near; bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the Lord.” And the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all who were ^vof a willing heart brought burnt offerings. 32 The number of the burnt offerings that the assembly brought was 70 bulls, 100 rams, and 200 lambs; all these were for a burnt offering to the Lord. 33 And the consecrated offerings were 600 bulls and 3,000 sheep. 34 But the priests were too few and could not flay all the burnt offerings, so until other priests had consecrated themselves, ^wtheir brothers the Levites helped them, until the work was finished—^xfor the Levites were more upright in heart than the priests in consecrating themselves. 35 Besides the great number of burnt offerings, there was ^ythe fat of the peace offerings, and there were ^zthe drink offerings for the burnt offerings. Thus the service of the house of the Lord was restored. 36 And Hezekiah and all the people rejoiced because God had provided for the people, for the thing came about suddenly.

Passover Celebrated

1 Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the Lord at Jerusalem to keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel. 2 For the king and his princes and all the assembly in Jerusalem had taken counsel to keep the Passover ^ain the second month— 3 for they could not keep it ^bat that time ^cbecause the priests had not consecrated themselves in sufficient number, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem— 4 and the plan seemed right to the king and all the assembly. 5 So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, ^dfrom Beersheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord, the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it as often as prescribed. 6 ^eSo couriers went throughout all Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his princes, as the king had commanded, saying, “O people of Israel, ^freturn to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, that he may turn again to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of ^gthe kings of Assyria. 7 ^hDo not be like your fathers and your brothers, who were faithless to the Lord God of their fathers, so that he made them a desolation, as you see. 8 ⁱDo not now be stiff-necked as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the Lord and come to his sanctuary, which he has consecrated forever, and serve the Lord your God, ^jthat his fierce anger may turn away from you. 9 For ^fif you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children ^kwill find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For ^lthe Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, ^mif you return to him.”

10 ^eSo the couriers went from city to city through the country of ⁿEphraim and Manasseh, and as far as Zebulun, but ^othey laughed them to scorn and mocked them. 11 However, ^psome men of Asher, of Manasseh, and of Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem. 12 The hand of God was also on Judah to give them one heart to do what the king and the princes commanded ^qby the word of the Lord.

13 And many people came together in Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread ^rin the second month, a very great assembly. 14 They set to work and removed ^sthe altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for burning incense they took away ^tand threw into the brook Kidron. 15 ^uAnd they slaughtered the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day of the second month. ^vAnd the priests and the Levites were ashamed, ^wso that they consecrated themselves and brought burnt offerings into the house of the Lord. 16 ^xThey took their accustomed posts according to the Law of Moses ^ythe man of God. The priests threw the blood that they received from the hand of the Levites. 17 For there were many in the assembly who had not consecrated themselves. Therefore the Levites had to slaughter the Passover lamb for everyone who was not clean, to consecrate it to the Lord. 18 For a majority of the people, ^zmany of them from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet they ate the Passover otherwise ^athan as prescribed. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying, “May the good Lord pardon everyone 19 ^bwho sets his heart to seek God, the Lord, the God of his fathers, even though not according to the sanctuary’s rules of cleanness.”⁴ 20 And the Lord heard Hezekiah and healed the people. 21 And the people of Israel who were present at Jerusalem kept ^cthe Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with great gladness, and the Levites and the priests praised the Lord day by day, singing with all their might⁵ to the Lord. 22 And Hezekiah spoke ^dencouragingly to all the Levites who showed good skill in the service of the Lord. So they ate the food of the festival for seven days, sacrificing ^epeace offerings and giving thanks to the Lord, the God of their fathers.

23 Then the whole assembly agreed together to keep the feast ^ffor another seven days. So they kept it for another seven days with gladness. 24 For Hezekiah king of Judah ^ggave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep for offerings, and the princes gave the assembly 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests ^hconsecrated themselves in great numbers. 25 The whole assembly of Judah, and the priests and the Levites, ⁱand the whole assembly that came out of Israel, and the sojourners who came out of the land of Israel, and the sojourners who lived in Judah, rejoiced. 26 So there was great joy in Jerusalem, for ^jsince the time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there had been nothing like this in Jerusalem. 27 Then ^kthe priests and the Levites arose and ^lblessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer came to ^mhis holy habitation in heaven.

Teach Me Your Paths

¹ Of David.

The Parable of the Sower

1 Again ^vhe began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, ^wso that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And ^xhe was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! ^yBehold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And ^zwhen the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, ^ait withered away. 7 Other seed fell among ^bthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and ^ca hundredfold.” 9 And he said, ^d“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 And ^ewhen he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, ^f“To you has been given ^gthe secret of the kingdom of God, but for ^hthose outside everything is in parables, 12 ⁱso that

13 ^lAnd he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 ^mThe sower sows ⁿthe word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it ^owith joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but ^pendure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^qthey fall away.¹ 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but ^rthe cares of ^sthe world and ^tthe deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and ^ubear fruit, ^vthirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

A Lamp Under a Basket

21 ^wAnd he said to them, ^x“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 ^yFor nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 ^zIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: ^awith the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 ^bFor to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The Parable of the Seed Growing

26 And he said, ^c“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; ^dhe knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once ^ehe puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 ^fAnd he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like ^ga grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

33 ^hWith many such parables he spoke ⁱthe word to them, ^jas they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them ^kwithout a parable, but ^lprivately to his own disciples he ^mexplained everything.

Jesus Calms a Storm

35 ⁿOn that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves ^owere breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and ^prebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and ^qthere was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you ^rso afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, ^s“Who then is this, that even ^tthe wind and the sea obey him?”